5 Favorite Literary Men

Jay Gatsby of The Great Gatsby

Mystery and desperation...those are my words for Jay Gatsby. He undergoes this huge transformation from James Gatz of North Dakota to Jay Gatsby of New York all for the hope of being the type of man who could win Daisy Buchanan over. I think I'm drawn to his character because he feels everything to it's highest intensity. By the end of the novel, you're sad for the tragic end that befalls Gatsby, but his impression lingers on. He may not have had a lasting effect on Daisy (that we know of) but he leaves his audience wanting more, something better for poor Jay Gatsby.

 Fitzwilliam Darcy (Mr. Darcy) of Pride and Prejudice 

Oh. Mr. Darcy! I could write poetry about this man and his love affair with Miss Elizabeth Bennett. He is a wealthy man who is very quick to judge the situations and people around him...he also never hesitates to share his perspective. Although you want to hate him at times, you can't help but love Mr. Darcy because he is so adamantly trying to say and do the right thing. He just isn't always correct on what is right. By the end of the book, he gets it straight and gets the girl!

Augustus Waters (Gus) of The Fault in Our Stars

It had been a long time since I had really connected with the love story of a book, but then I read The Fault in Our Stars. And as sad and somewhat predictable it is, I think I loved it so much because of the ever-positive and ever-charming Augustus Waters. The Augustus/Hazel love story just would not be the same without his quotable thoughtfulness. He takes Hazel by the hand and basically says, "I love you, and you're going to love me...just wait!" And he delivers. Augustus beckons the audience to the idealistic thoughts of young love. He's basically the literary version of "butterflies in your stomach."

James Stevens (Mr. Stevens) of The Remains of the Day

Confession time...I genuinely disliked Mr. Stevens for a large portion of this novel because he seemed so pretentious and cold. Lucky for me, I was reading this book while taking a class from Professor Cluff (he's the man) and he explained his character in a way that made him likeable. Mr. Stevens is so dignified and traditional that he almost can't turn it off to be normal. He misses his chance with Miss Kenton because of this struggle. I kept thinking, "He really could have been happy with her!!" But, his greatest joy is a job well done and therefore his life has been well lived. Mr. Stevens is an enigma and I love reading about him because there is always something new to catch.

Philip Pirrip (Pip) of Great Expectations

Pip is a mixed character for me. About 50% of the time I think he is such a self-involved brat and then the other 50% he seems to get it together to do the right thing. As is normal for Dickens, there are about 948 story lines to follow in this book. Pip helps a convict. Pip spends time with and falls in love with Estella while Miss Havisham looks on happily. Pip is doomed to be a blacksmith. Pip inherits money and gets to be a gentleman. Estella's love life is a mess (thank you, Miss Havisham.) And all the while poor Pip has to navigate the mess while not being horrible. He's successful by the end, and simply from watching him flounder for so long, you can't help but love him for it!